Christmas Activity Calendar for Kids

I may have blogged about this last year. I don't remember. I'm not going to look it up.

If I've already shared this idea, I want to share again!

Starting tomorrow, we will be using this advent calendar for the third year in a row. Does that make it a tradition? Three in a row?

It is a lift-the-flap calendar, with a daily treasure hunt and activity relating to Jesus' birth.

You put your own clues on the calendar - one for each day. Your kiddo lifts the flap for that day's date; the clue tells him where to find that day's activity. (In the toy box, in the silverware drawer, under the chair cushion, etc - I usually re-use locations after a week or so). The activities vary from scripture readings, to Christmas carols and little craft projects - many to do with making ornaments for your tree.

The calendar starts with December 1st, but there is plenty of flexibility in the activities to rearrange them to fit your schedule, so you could probably start any time in the first week of December and double up or skip activities.

We love it and I hope you do too!
Go HERE and start printing! :)

WFMW - Tablecloths & Kids

Our kitchen table is our central headquarters for school, meal & snack-times, and pretty much everything else.

Sometimes I like to keep a tablecloth and centerpiece on it, but then it ends up folded back on itself a lot to keep it clean.

Lately though, I've discovered using our kid card-table. For breakfast and lunch when it's just me and the boys, they can eat at that table, and I eat "on-the-go". (A.K.A "standing up")
While not ideal long term, it works great for me, especially since we always all sit down together (at the 'real' table) for supper.

This arrangement is also good for coloring and gluing stuff. Keeps them nearby while I'm working in the kitchen (and out of trouble elsewhere) and I still have a pretty table to look at while I work.

Works for me! Especially during the holidays. Be sure and visit Rocks in my Dryer to see what is working for others. :)

A Tale of Two Cakes

I made 2 cakes today... one to give away, and one to keep. I'll let you guess which is which.

Here they are together. Bless its little heart.

I'd like to tell you Dale did one cake and I did the other, but that wouldn't be quite true. He did do the sprinkles on one of them.

Ah well... I have no doubts they'll both get eaten. :)

Shoe Lament

I know I should simply be thankful that my children have shoes. And I am, really, I am.

And normally I'm a "use it 'till it's used up" kind of gal.

But these Sunday shoes have got to go, and the sooner the better.

Any shoe that a 5 year old cannot put on alone is suspicious, but a shoe that mother and daddy and 5 year old all struggle with? Ridiculous!

We've stomped. We've pulled. We've used kitchen utensils as shoe horns and tried thinner socks. For weeks.

These shoes just weren't made to go on feet. Which kind of defeats the purpose.

And definitely invites lamenting and wailing and stomping on Sunday mornings. By all 3 of us.

I can't seem to get myself to a shoe store, and I've passed up wal-mart's one and only chunky black lace-up "dress" shoe twice now. But I'm rapidly getting to the point that anything would be better than these.

Definitely one thing that won't be going in the hand-me-down box.

And yet... I keep coming back to - "At least we can afford shoes for our children. And multiple pairs, at that!"

And then there is this week's memory verse:
"Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ." Ephesians 5:20

Ah well... just a few more weeks and he'll out-grow them.
(And no I do NOT plan on saving them!!)

HOTM - Friday Meme:Giving Thanks

This Friday's Meme at Heart of the Matter - Giving Thanks.

I am thankful for families.

I am thankful that I get to spend every day with a husband who loves me, and 2 precious little boys. I love looking back and thinking about who we were when we met (2 separate individuals) and then looking at us now: a family.
I am thankful for the family I grew up with: parents, sister, and grandparents. I think I got about the best deal a girl could have. They made me who I am today.

I am thankful for the immediate and extended family that have sacrificed so much for us in the past 2 years. Liver disease pretty much takes over your life, and they have all let it take over theirs too.
I am thankful for our church family, who has prayed and given and given and prayed and loved us through so much. We love them too! Add to that churches near and far we have never set foot in, and yet they have loved Alan as one of their own.

I am thankful for a family who lost a precious loved one, and gave through their grief. Their gift, through God's work, gave Alan life. "Thank you" seems like so little, but we are thankful for them beyond words.

Help! Cooking for a crew!

**This post is going up pretty quick after my previous one, so be sure and scroll down for my latest Dale story if you haven't seen it yet. ;) **As some of you already know, Greg is going on a pre-Thanksgiving ski trip.
He will be the only adult in a cabin/condo/whatever with 7 teenage boys.
And it will be his job to cook for them 3 nights!
Oh my and oh dear. This is where I could use your help. What are relatively cheap, easy-to-prepare meals for 8? 8 males who will have spent the day skiing. And will want meat. And lots of it.
And may I mention again easy-to-prepare?

Any suggestions?
(And I know there are a lot of you who aren't bloggers that read this blog. I know you are out there. This would be a great time for you to reveal yourselves and chime in. You can leave a comment "anonymously" and then sign your name. 'kay? Great! Thanks!)

Because anything less would be just plain rude

As part of this week's lessons on thankfulness I read Dale the story of the 10 lepers today.
(Luke 17:11-19)

The one about the time Jesus healed 10 lepers and only 1 came back to say 'thank you'.

I wasn't sure if Dale was even listening, so we kind of 'retold' it to each other after I finished reading. And whaddya know? He was listening! He knew the details very well. I'm going to like this Charlotte Mason narration stuff! :)

So at supper tonight as Dale was telling Daddy what all we'd done in school today he told a shortened version of his Bible story, ending with:

"And only one came back to say thank you!"

(short pause)

"I guess the other nine thanked him before they left."